FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Jason Amos, Alliance: 202-828-0828; [email protected]
Noelle Ellerson, AASA, AESA, NREA and, NREAC: 703-875-0764; [email protected] 
Michael Kaplun, CoSN: 202-496-2120; [email protected] 
Deborah Mersino, ISTE: 541-349-7575; [email protected] 
Laura Greenback, SIIA: 202-789-4461; [email protected] 
Doug Levin, SETDA: 202-556-3684; [email protected]

K-12 Education Leaders Hail Introduction of the Transforming Education Through Technology Act

Legislation by U.S. Congressman Miller Would Help Ensure Students are College and Career Ready Through Digital Learning

Washington, DC (February 5, 2013) – A coalition of national education leadership organizations today hailed the introduction of the Transforming Education Through Technology Act. The legislation was introduced by U.S. Representative George Miller (CA), Ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Education & the Workforce Committee. Organizations representing K-12 educators in rural, suburban and urban settings, state and district administrators, and high-tech providers praised Congressman Miller for his continued leadership to ensure students and educators have access to the modern educational tools required to prepare them for success.

The organizations (listed below) made the following joint statement:

“We thank Congressman Miller for introducing the Transforming Education Through Technology Act. This important legislation will help to ensure that all students graduate from high school college- and career-ready, with a high quality education enabled by the effective use of technology. We look forward to working to secure passage of this bill to ensure that every student in America has access to a superior, technology-enriched learning environment they need to lead our country into the future.”

The Transforming Education Through Technology Act would help schools, districts, and states improve teaching and learning through technology. Specifically, the legislation would:

• Support and prepare teachers and principals to use technology to redesign curriculum, effectively use real-time data to drive classroom practice, individualize instruction, and increase student engagement;
• Help school districts ensure equitable access to, and effective use of, the technology infrastructure and applications all students need for expanded learning opportunities, online assessment and computer-based curriculum;
• Seed new models of digital learning that help personalize learning through online communities of practice and interactive learning simulations; and
• Help states to support their school districts to improve student learning, upgrade assessments, and improve educator preparation and support around technology.

The organizations issuing this joint statement in support of the Transforming Education Through Technology Act are: Alliance for Excellent Education (Alliance), American Association of School Administrators (AASA), Association of Education Service Agencies, Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), National Rural Education Association, National Rural Education Advocacy Coalition Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), and the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA).

These organizations will continue working together toward enactment and funding of the Transforming Education Through Technology Act and related policies to ensure students and educators have the technology-based tools and resources needed for success in this digital-age.

About

The Alliance for Excellent Education is a Washington, DC–based national policy and advocacy organization that works to improve national and federal policy so that all students can achieve at high academic levels and graduate from high school ready for success in college, work, and citizenship in the twenty-first century. For more information, please visit http://www.all4ed.org.

The American Association of School Administrators, founded in 1865, is the professional organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders in the United States and throughout the world. AASA members range from chief executive officers, superintendents and senior level school administrators to cabinet members, professors and aspiring school system leaders.

The Association of Educational Service Agencies is a professional organization serving educational service agencies (ESAs) in 45 states; there are 553 agencies nationwide with hundreds of thousands of staff members. The mission of AESA is to support and strengthen regional educational service agencies.

Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) is the premier professional association for school system technology leaders. The mission of CoSN is to empower educational leaders to leverage technology to realize engaging learning environments. Visit www.cosn.org or phone 866.267.8747 to find out more about CoSN’s Leadership Initiatives, annual conference and events, policy and advocacy, membership, and resources.

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is the premier membership association for educators and education leaders engaged in advancing excellence in learning and teaching through the innovative and effective use of technology in PK-12 and teacher education. Home to ISTE’s annual conference and exposition, the ISTE leadership conference, and the widely-adopted NETS, ISTE represents more than 100,000 professionals worldwide. For more information, please visit http://www.iste.org.

The National Rural Education Association was originally founded as the Department of Rural Education in 1907. It is the oldest established national organization of its kind in the United States. Through the years it has evolved as a strong and respected organization of rural school administrators, teachers, board members, regional service agency personnel, researchers, business and industry representatives, and others interested in maintaining the vitality of rural school systems across the country.

The National Rural Education Advocacy Coalition was created by state and national education organizations with a focus on the provision and maintenance of quality learning opportunities for the children in the public schools of rural America. Our mission is to represent the educational interests of those children to the Congress and the Executive Branch.

Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry. SIIA provides global services in government relations, business development, corporate education, and intellectual property protection to over 500 leading software and information companies. The SIIA Education Division serves and represents more than 200 member companies that provide software, digital content and other technologies that address educational needs. For more information, visit www.siia.net/education.

The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), founded in 2001, is the national non-profit association representing the interests of U.S. state and territorial educational technology leadership. SETDA’s mission is to build and increase the capacity of state and national leaders to improve education through technology policy and practice. For more information, please visit www.setda.org.